Food Industry

Last weekend I ventured out of Newcastle-under-Lyme to the big city. No, not Manchester or Birmingham, but that London. I tied on my money belt, and packed my How-to-Talk-to-Southerners phrase book. That London's got a lot fancier, and busier, since I left in 2001 for the bright lights of New York.

Behaviour is triggered and controlled subconsciously without us even realising it. Trying to think about our condition logically and rationally rarely achieves anything because the unconscious part of our mind is so incredibly powerful that it will almost always over-ride any remedial action we try. Only by retuning the unconscious can progress against obesity ever be made.

Sugar is the latest scapegoat in our fight against obesity. Why? Because we like to find external factors to blame rather than our inability to exert self restraint or improve our eating habits. Sugar inhibits the appetite control mechanisms in the brain which normally stop us eating when we feel full, so if we are to look for a cause, it could be said to fit the bill.

George Bernard Shaw once said, "Success does not consist in never making mistakes, but in never making the same one a second time." One year on from the horsemeat scandal and the food industry is in danger of doing exactly that.

The truth is we don't have the freedom to choose an added-sugar-free diet, the stuff is unavoidable. Forget fizzy drinks - yoghurts, salad dressings, dips, cereals, bread, sushi, sauces, baked beans and crisps all have unnecessary amounts of added-sugar to them.

'The Pig Idea' was started by food waste campaigner Tristram Stuart and Wahaca founder Thomasina Miers, both of whom I have a huge amount of respect for. However I have joined the debate as there are some issues in their argument which I feel need addressing on behalf of BPEX and the pig farming industry...

The food industry is going through the same sort of upheaval that the tobacco sector went through some years ago. Health campaigners and keepers of the public purse are deeply concerned about obesity; just as they once were about the effect of tobacco. But the difference between food and tobacco is that we need food. The food sector won't shrink like the tobacco sector did.